Is Nathan Ake set for Chelsea return – Manchester City Fans May Be Doubtful

Whether or not the 2025/26 Premier League campaign turns out to be Pep Guardiola’s final 12 months in Manchester remains to be seen, but if it is then the 55-year-old has overseen the start of a very good first team rebuild allied with another title chase.

As we step into April, City have a game in hand on league leaders Arsenal and Mikel Arteta’s side have just been defeated 2-0 in the League Cup Final at Wembley, undoubtedly playing on their minds – not least given their record of failing to deal with pressure during the business end of a season.

Potentially there is only a six-point gap and you would take those odds of success if you gamed on Rocket Play casino AUS. City are still to face Arsenal in the league return leg as well, and closing the gap like that would be monumental on a psychological front.

As another trophy stays at the forefront of fans’ minds, eyes will already be turning to the summer transfer window and what kind of ‘second stage’ rebuild the club will undergo, as that process is a given irrespective of whether or not Pep Guardiola stays.

The speculation rumour mill is already full of potential incoming links, and every fan knows there are players that remain on the roster that simply do not have a future at the Etihad Stadium.

There will certainly be an unexpected departure or two when the price is right and it seems that one of those players could be Nathan Ake, although it should be said that this piece of speculation is being mainly driven by the fact he is now 31-years-old and reportedly rebuilding his house near Chelsea’s training ground.

As speculation goes, this one is quite novel. Yes, the Dutch international defender came through Chelsea’s youth ranks and made a handful of appearances for them before eventually making the switch to Bournemouth. But although his game time has slowly become limited under Guardiola, he remains an important player for the side.

He is out of contract at the end of next season, and as of yet there has been little to no movement on a new contract extension. However, there is plenty of time to sort that out come the summer, if that is what both parties want to happen.

It is also fair to acknowledge that he hinted that lifting the trophy at Wembley the other week would be the perfect ‘nice ending’ to his story in Manchester which has been a very successful six year stay.

Such a signing would in no way match Chelsea’s transfer policy for the last few seasons though, so a return ‘home’ and going full circle seems very far fetched here.

We will simply have to see, as although the educated guess would most definitely say there is a future move to London on the cards, a return to Chelsea just feels off here despite the house location.